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Rafael Dos Anjos
Rafael Dos Anjos is the former UFC lightweight champion, currently competing at welterweight. Ups and Downs At LW He most recently defeated Terry Etim via armbar submission. He recently faced powerhouse contender Clay Guida. Guida broke his jaw with a counter right hand in the first round and Dos Anjos was forced to submit due to the injury late in the third round. Dos Anjos had to undergo a pair of intense surgeries from August through October and he was out for about six months following them. After recovering, Dos Anjos next replaced an injured Evan Dunham against the well-rounded George Sotiropoulos. He defeated the Australian contender via first round knockout. He next faced fellow Brazilian Gleison Tibau, losing a close split decision against Tibau. Rising Through The Ranks Dos Anjos next signed to face Iranian WEC veteran Kamal Shalorus in a loser-leaves-town matchup. He defeated Shalorus via rear-naked choke submission in under two minutes. Dos Anjos next faced another WEC veteran and striker Anthony Njokuani, defeating Njokuani via a dominant unanimous decision outstriking the striker for fifteen minutes. Dos Anjos next signed to face Canadian grappler Mark Bocek. Dos Anjos defeated the veteran Bocek via an impressive decision, outgrappling the grappler. Dos Anjos next faced well-rounded Evan Dunham, winning an exciting but close and controversial unanimous decision. Dos Anjos next signed to fight WEC veteran Donald Cerrone defeating the veteran Cerrone via an upset unanimous decision. Dos Anjos next called out contender TJ Grant stating he wanted a fight in early 2014. He also called out former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson in late October 2013. Henderson accepted the challenge. Instead Dos Anjos was next set to face Rustam Khabilov; Khabilov was unfortunately injured in February 2014 and replaced by undefeated Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov defeated Dos Anjos via a dominant unanimous decision. Road To The Title Dos Anjos next fought Jason High knocking out High in the second round. Dos Anjos wasted little time in next signing to fight former UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson in his first UFC main event. Dos Anjos handed Henderson his first knockout loss with a huge first round upset knockout, rocketing up the rankings. Dos Anjos next signed to fight long-time contender Nate Diaz. Dos Anjos dominated Diaz with leg kicks and wrestling en route to an impressive unanimous decision. The Champ Is Here UFC president Dana White next announced that Dos Anjos would receive the next shot at UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, in March 2015. Dos Anjos put on the best performance of his career to date, dominating Pettis completely everywhere the fight went for virtually the entirety of the fight's five rounds. There was no doubt when the scorecards were read that Dos Anjos had won by unanimous decision to become the UFC lightweight champion. Dos Anjos took a break of several months (close to a full year in fact) before signing to defend his belt in a rematch against bitter rival Donald Cerrone for December 2015. Dos Anjos blitzkrieged Cerrone defeating him in less than a minute via technical knockout. In January 2016 Dos Anjos was set to defend his belt in a 'superfight' against UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor. It would be only the second time in UFC history that two active champions would fight each other. Unfortunately Dos Anjos suffered a broken foot and was replaced against McGregor by Nate Diaz. Losing the Title After recovering Dos Anjos signed to defend his title for the second time against former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. Alvarez unfortunately handed dos Anjos a first round technical knockout loss and took the UFC lightweight title from him. Dos Anjos next fought contender Tony Ferguson losing a hard-fought and close decision. Welterweight Title Run Dos Anjos next announced a move to welterweight, defeating former Strikeforce welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine in his divisional debut at 170 pounds. Dos Anjos then fought veteran Neil Magny winning via a quick and impressive arm triangle choke submission in just under four minutes. Dos Anjos wasted little time in next signing to fight former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, ostensibly for a title shot against current champion Tyron Woodley. He defeated Lawler via a dominant unanimous decision, but that title shot didn't materialize. Well, not exactly. Instead dos Anjos next fought Colby Covington for the interim welterweight title, losing via a dominant unanimous decision. After the Title at Welterweight dos Anjos next fought the undefeated Kamaru Usman, losing via another dominant unanimous decision. He then faced fellow former lightweight Kevin Lee, who was making his own move up to welterweight, and defeated Lee via a fourth-round arm-triangle choke submission. He next fought contender Leon Edwards, losing another - you guessed it - unanimous decision. Fights *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Danilo Cherman *Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael Dos Anjos - The fight was the UFC debut of Dos Anjos and one of my favorite knockouts in mixed martial arts history. *Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael Dos Anjos *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Rob Emerson *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Kyle Bradley - Kyle Bradley was badly battered after the fight and he was also cut from the UFC. *Clay Guida vs. Rafael Dos Anjos - Dos Anjos broke his jaw in the first round and was forced to submit due to the injury late in the third round. *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. George Sotiropoulos - Rafael Dos Anjos stepped in to replace an injured Evan Dunham. *Gleison Tibau vs. Rafael Dos Anjos *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Anthony Njokuani *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone 1 *Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Rafael Dos Anjos *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Nate Diaz *Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Anthony Pettis - The fight was for the UFC lightweight title with Anthony Pettis defending. Category:Lightweight fighters Category:Brazilian fighters Category:UFC lightweight champions